A rose for Emily

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

William Faulkner

About the author

William Faulkner (1897-1962) 

American writer (fiction)

Mississippi ("the deep South)

1949: Nobel prize for literature

The story

 • Setting: the deep South (Mississippi), 20th century.

Published in 1930 (racism at highest point)

Large, poor working class, small rich upper class. Aristocratic upper class fell apart during Civil War (1861-1865, many men were killed) this rapidly changed the situations on the plantations (antebellum period).

Themes

• The post-Civil War South
• Tradition vs. progress
• Patriarchal authority and control
• Time and narrative
• Gossip, social conventions and judgment

For next lesson:

Answer the first 5 study questions (work in duos or groups)

William Faulkner

Why did Faulkner focus on one Southern county?

Southern heritage, memory of pre-Civil War south. Specific representation of the community

Provide quotes that explain how the Grierson house and Emily's appearance are a reflection of changing times and fortunes.

Examples of town's inability to
deal normally with miss Emily

Give a valid example of miss Emily's inability to cope with life

Homer Barron

His presence in Jefferson suggests the reunification of North and South after the Civil War, and he himself is an agent of progress and industrialization in a heretofore rigidly conservative

community, "a breath of fresh air"

Homer is “not a marrying man.”

Foreshadowing

Irony of the title

Who is/are the narrator(s)?

Why is Emily called a fallen monument in the first paragraph?